Young Boy Suffered Head Trauma in Crash, Driver Suspected of Drinking

December 26, 2012 Comments Off

The accident took place in a residential neighborhood just 7/10ths of a mile from the driver’s home.

Anne Arundel County Police reported a car accident on Christmas Day that left a seven-year-old boy in critical condition. Lt. John McAndrew said in a release to the media that the accident happened around 11 p.m. on Dec. 25 off Piney Orchard Parkway in Odenton.

This is not a story about a South County family or location. We wanted to publish it because it illustrates an important lesson about drunk driving and the importance of keeping younger children in the back seat in an approved safety car seat. This incident took place a half-mile from the driver’s home.

An example of a rollback tow truck.

Here’s what happened: McAndrews said that a 1997 Acura, driven by Lisa Marie Middledorf of Odenton, was on Casaurina Way near Spring Meadow Way in Odenton when it hit a parked rollback tow truck.

Middledorf, 30, was driving at the time of the incident. A child, 7, was in the front seat of the Acura and sustained “severe head trauma as a result of the crash,” the report said.

The boy’s home address is listed as the same as Middledorf, although the report did not specify a relationship between the two.

Middledorf was uninjured in the crash. Police believe that a combination of alcohol and driver fatigue may have been contributing factors in the crash. Middledorf was taken to the Western District Police Station for a mandatory breath test.

Children are not required to sit in the back seat under Maryland law, but children younger than eight years should be seated in a child safety seat. The back seat is recommended for all children younger than 11.

Police are continuing to investigate the incident.

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About Mitchelle Stephenson

I've gotta tell Mitchelle! Send your South County news tips, brag on your fab volunteers, talk traffic, police and fire or just say "howdy" to Mitchelle Stephenson, co-founding editor of the South River Source. Mitchelle@SouthRiverSource.com or reach me in person on mobile: 410-353-4706.